Skip to main content

Aoyama Gakuin Outruns Kyoto Sangyo at Tango University Ekiden


The Tango University Ekiden, the 86th Kansai Region university men's championship race, happened Saturday on an 8-leg, 74.4 km course through Kyoto from Miyazu to Tango. Kyoto Sangyo University successfully defended its win last year in 3:47:52 to take its 34th Kansai title.

KSU got off to a slow start, 35 seconds behind the leader in 6th after the opening leg. But on the 11.8 km 2nd leg Kaito Kojima, the top Japanese finisher in September's National University Championships 10000 m, was outstanding. Passing one team after another, he overtook leader Ritsumeikan University near halfway on his stage and pushed on to break the CR he set last year by 11 seconds. By the time he handed off he had a lead of 50 seconds over Ritsumeikan.

Ritsumeikan closed that back down to 11 seconds over the 3rd leg, but KSU's 4th runner Taiyo Yamaguchi reopened it with a stage best run. The rest of the team ran a stable safety race, and anchor Daiki Kuwata was all smiles as he broke the tape, his win guaranteeing KSU a place at next year's Izumo Ekiden.

Kwansei Gakuin University took 2nd a distant 2:23 behind KSU. 2nd runner Keima Yamashita moved up from 7th to 3rd, and 3rd runner Daisuke Kuyama beat the CR for the 5.6 km 3rd leg by 43 seconds. A good run on the 8th leg from Kenshin Kamimoto while racing head-to-head with Kansai University was enough to secure KGU's position even without any individual stage wins.

After a stage-winning run from starting runner Hayato Omori Ritsumeikan ended up 3rd, with Osaka Keizai University 4th after having been the 2nd-place Kansai Region team at Nationals two weeks ago. Despite running much of the race in 2nd with stage wins on the 5th, 6th and 7th legs, Kansai University fell to 5th after its 8th runner struggled.

Doshisha University, Ryukoku University, Kobe University, Kinki University and Osaka University rounded out to 10-deep podium to secure themselves places at next year's race. For Kinki it was the first podium finish in 3 years, with Osaka making it back after missing out last year.

Running in a non-competitive capacity for the 2nd year in a row, 2024 Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University beat winner KSU to the finish line in 3:46:30. AGU's 1st runner So Honma, 4th runner Kaito Nakamura, 5th runner Kaito Kumai and 6th runner Sho Fukutomi all ran faster than the official stage-winning times on their legs.

Tango University Ekiden

86th Kansai Region University Men's Championships
Tango, Kyoto, 16 Nov. 2024
22 teams, 8 stages, 74.4 km
top 10 teams seeded for 2025

Top Individual Stage Results
First Stage (9.9 km) - Hayato Omori (Ritsumeikan) - 29:56
Second Stage (11.8 km) - Kaito Kojima (Kyoto Sangyo) - 35:05 - CR
Third Stage (5.6 km) - Ryosuke Chaki (Ritsumeikan) - 16:37 - CR
Fourth Stage (9.5 km) - Taiyo Yamaguchi (Kyoto Sangyo) - 27:55
Fifth Stage (9.4 km) - Shusuke Shiba (Kansai) - 28:41
Sixth Stage (6.3 km) - Keito Hirano (Kansai) - 18:52
Seventh Stage (11.8 km) - Kosei Tanimura (Kansai) - 35:48
Eighth Stage (10.4 km) - Renta Iwasaka (Osaka Keizai) - 32:15

Team Results
OP - Aoyama Gakuin University - 3:46:30
1. Kyoto Sangyo University - 3:47:52
2. Kwansei Gakuin University - 3:50:15
3. Ritsumeikan University - 3:50:53
4. Osaka Keizai University - 3:51:22
5. Kansai University - 3:52:08
6. Doshisha University - 3:57:46
7. Ryukoku University - 3:57:53
8. Kobe University - 3:59:35
9. Kinki University - 4:00:54
10. Osaka University - 4:01:39
-----
11. Setsunan University - 4:02:10
12. Biwako Gakuin University - 4:02:23
13. Kyoto University - 4:02:50
14. Osaka Kokusai University - 4:04:13
15. Osaka Koritsu University - 4:07:38
16. Osaka Taiiku University - 4:08:02
17. Bukkyo University - 4:10:11
18. Osaka Gakuin University - 4:10:22
19. Osaka Kyoiku University - 4:11:41
20. Konan University - 4:13:46
21. Hyogo Kenritsu University - 4:18:42

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

Japan's Team Performance at World U20 Championships

There wasn't much surprise in the events where Japan did well at the Oregon World U20 Championships , with medals in the men's 110 mH, 400 mH and 3000 m, and top 5 finishes in the women's and men's 5000 m race walks, men's 4x100 m relay, men's pole vault and long jump, men's 200 m, women's 800 m and 3000 m, and women's javelin throw. Jeremy Koga ran a 12.95 (+0.3) Asian U20 AR in the men's 110 mH semifinals, then came back in the final with a 12.97 (+0.7) in the final to take silver behind a brilliant 12.72 U20 WR by American Le'Ezra Brown . Taiju Goto was expected to medal in the men's 400 mH, but after leading the semifinals the best he could do was silver in 49.23, gold going to the Czech Republic's Michal Rada with a 48.59 European U20 AR. Expected to do better in the 1500 m, Ojiro Honda ran a 7:48.49 U20 NR in the men's 3000 m final to score bronze, only to come in near the back of the field in the 1500 m final at 14th in...
2 comments
Read more

Some Mid-Season Women's Corporate Team Roster Changes

The Daiichi Life women's corporate team announced last week on its official site that Paris Olympics 10000 m runner Haruka Kokai and teammate Yuka Masubuchi left the organization as of July 31. Kokai was born in 2003. Kokai rose to the national level while at Sendai Ikuei H.S. , winning the first leg at the National High School Ekiden her 2nd year to lead them to the overall national title. After graduating she joined Daiichi Life, then called Daiichi Seimei, in 2021. In March, 2023 she was the gold medalist in the women's 10000 m at the Asian Championships, and in December the same year she took 3rd in the National Championships 10000 m in an all-time Japanese #7 30:57.67 to score a place on the Paris Olympics team. In Paris she placed 19th. In a statement released by Daiichi Life Kokai said, "I want to thank the team, who always put the athletes first as they shared this journey, and all my teammates for so many good times together. There were times I got really disco...
1 comment
Read more